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Show Spicier Gets Name From Spinning; Not Insects The word "spider" grew out of an old Anglo-Saxon word meaning "to spin." We may give this meaning mean-ing as "spinner," and that is a good way to describe this little animal. Silk is spun by spiders, good silk which could be made into thread and woven into cloth if enough of it were obtained. Spiders do not get along well together, and that is why they are not kept in colonies like silkworms. Some spiders never spin webs in the open air. Yet they use silk in preparing nests, and for other purposes. pur-poses. A person is apt to think of spiders spi-ders as insects, but men of science do not class them as insects. They are classified as "arachnids." They differ in several ways from true insects. A true insect has six legs, but a spider has eight. The body of a true insect is divided into three main parts, but the spider's body has only two main parts. Most kinds of insects have wings. Certain insects, like ants, seldom have them, but in the spider world we find no wings at alL There are hundreds of kinds of spiders but none can spread wings and fly. The nearest thing to a "flying spider" is one which spins out silk, and then sails through the air when blown by a strong breeze. A little "aviator" of this type may travel miles before landing. Many female spiders spin silken cases in which to place their eggs, and then drag the egg case after them as they move about. When the young spiders hatch they may crawl on the body of the mother and cling there day after day. Spiders differ a great deal in size. Some, when full-grown, can stand on a dime and have space left over. Others are very large. The largest member of the whole tribe is the so-called "bird-eating spider." It is a native of the tropics, trop-ics, and is found chiefly in South America. Some bird-eating spiders are large enough to spread their legs clear across a man's hand. The body alone may be as much as three inches long. The bird-eating spider has a hairy covering. It lives chiefly on insects, but has been known to attack and kill hummingbirds. |
